


Inquisitive Connections

by SakuraBreeze



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-08
Updated: 2014-12-16
Packaged: 2018-02-28 16:52:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2739899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraBreeze/pseuds/SakuraBreeze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When closing a mysterious, blue rift, Lythana Lavellan gets sucked inside and sent to a part of the Fade she's never seen before. There, she meets Saeldur Lavellan, who turns out to be the Inquisitor of another world. Together, the two must try to get back to their own worlds while they figure out just who, or what, caused this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Rift

Magic flowed between Lythana’s hand and the strange, blue rift. It felt like nothing she had ever experienced. The magic tingled. The feeling trailed its way up her arm, up her shoulder, enveloping her. Something was wrong, she knew it. Something was horribly wrong. This wasn’t a normal rift, and it couldn’t be closed by normal means. That much she realized. She tried to pull away, to cut the tie between her and the rift, but the magic enveloping her just grew in strength.  She felt herself moving forward, being drawn in. She yelled in fright. She tried once more to cut her connection, gave one more push, but suddenly the rift expanded, and sucked her in.

When she woke up, her head was throbbing. Slow pulses of pain hit her, wave after wave. She did her best to ignore it as she opened her eyes and sat up slowly. It was possibly the most difficult thing she’d ever done. She took a moment to assess the surroundings.

It seemed like she was in the fade, but it looked different somehow. Everything had a faint, blue tint to it and there were no signs of spirits anywhere. Walls towered over her, surrounding the area in which she was. They seemed almost endlessly tall.

Grabbing her staff, which was lying next to her, she stood up. Her whole body ached, right down to her bones. She gripped her staff tightly, leaning on it for support, and hobbled towards one of the walls. She made it about four steps before tripping over something.

She rolled onto her back and turned her head to the side. It wasn’t something she’d tripped over, it was someone. An elven man with light grey hair and dark tattoos covering his face. She sat up and crawled over to him, feeling for signs of life. The man groaned, and then sat up suddenly, his eyes flying open.

“Are you okay?” Lythana asked, flailing for lack of knowledge of what to do with her hands.

“Oh, I’m great,” the man said, voice full of sarcasm. “Where are we?”

“There’s no need for that,” she scolded. “I don’t know. I was sucked here through a rift that I was trying to close. So the fade, perhaps? How did you get here?”

The man frowned dubiously. “You were trying to close the rift? Why?”

“Because it’s my job?” She answered, mirroring his frown. “I’m the Inquisitor. Lythana Lavellan.”

“What are you talking about? I’m the Inquisitor,” he said, holding up his hand. Lo and behold, there was a glowing, green mark on his hand. “My name is Saeldur Lavellan.”

“How is this possible?” She wondered aloud, holding up her hand to show her own mark.

“So we’re both the Inquisitor? How?” He asked.

“I don’t know. How did you get here?”

“There was a rift,” he answered. “It was blue. It brought me here, like you.”

Lythana stood again. “I don’t understand,” she muttered, running her fingers through her hair. “How are we both the Inquisitor? What do those rifts have to do with it?”

“I don’t know,” he said, standing up as well. “But we should try and find a way out. We can figure out the rest later.”

“Right,” she nodded. “The walls. Maybe there’s a way out that way.”

He nodded as well, and they both started towards the closest wall. She glanced over at Saeldur as they walked – he also carried a staff. So he was a Dalish mage as well. Did that mean that he was the First of his clan as well? The first of clan Lavellan? She pushed the questions away when she felt her headache returning.

They walked for what seemed like an eon, and the walls grew no closer. In fact, they seemed even further than they were before. After more than an hour of walking, Lythana stopped.

“This is getting us nowhere,” she sighed. “Whatever force brought us here obviously doesn’t want us to leave.”

“I wonder what it could be?” he asked. “This has to be extremely powerful magic, to bring us to the fade. It feels somehow similar to Alexius’ magic.”

“Alexius? You’ve met him as well?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “Once we got to Skyhold I locked him away.”

“So did I,” she said. “Perhaps…”

“What?”

“Perhaps this place connects to different worlds,” she theorized. “And perhaps the rifts connect the rifts here.”

“Fascinating,” he breathed. “That seems like the best explanation. What on earth could have done this?”

“My guess is more Magisters messing with time magic,” she muttered. “The better question is, how do we get out of here?”

“Maybe we need to reverse whatever spell was cast to create those rifts,” Saeldur replied. “It could open another rift that will take us back to where we came from.”

Lythana nodded. “It’s worth a-”

A loud explosion from behind her cut her off. She screeched loudly and ducked. Blue flames flew over her head and as soon as they were gone she spun around and aimed her staff at the source of the explosion. Saeldur, evidently, had done the same. A blue rift hovered in front of them, a few meters above the ground. Lythana exhaled in relief at the sight.

“Oh, thank the creators,” she breathed.

“We don’t know where it leads,” he pointed out.

“Yes, but do we have any other options? Wherever that leads, it has to be better than this place. If it doesn’t lead home, then we can figure out how to get back from there,” she retorted.

“So we just… Jump in there?”

She shrugged and let out a helpless sigh. “I guess so.”

Saeldur shrugged as well, and then ran and jumped through the rift. Lythana hesitated for a moment, and then followed. Everything went white as soon as she was inside the rift. Bright light shone from all directions so brightly she had to squeeze her eyes shut. She was thrust back and forth, up and down. Nausea overtook her and she blacked out.

When she woke up again, she heard voices. Voices she recognized. The voices of her friends and companions.

She groaned in pain. She felt like she’d just fallen from a building.

When she opened her eyes, Cullen was standing over her.

“Lethallin,” she whispered hoarsely, and then promptly passed out again.


	2. The Other Inquisitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Lythana wakes up in Skyhold, she finds that she isn't actually home just yet, and meets yet another Inquisitor. She, Rezanya, and Saeldur begin working to find out what's causing the blue rifts.

When Lythana woke up, she was lying in a room that she didn’t recognize. It was small, but the walls were definitely made of the same stone as the walls of Skyhold. There was a small window across from the bed in which she was. From what she could tell, the sun was just beginning to rise. She blinked a few times, trying to get the last dredges of grogginess out of her mind. Just how long had she been asleep?

She tried to sit up, but found herself pulling against restraints. The blanket covering her fell from her torso to reveal chains around her wrists, tying her down to the bed. She pulled against the chains to test their strength – they were sturdy enough to keep even a Qunari confined.

Just as she was contemplating how she was going to escape, the door opened. She whipped her head up to see Cullen step through.  She felt a rush of relief at the sight of him, but then that relief turned quickly into confusion and hurt.

“…Cullen?” She whispered. “What’s going on? Why am I in chains? The last thing I remember, I-”

“Who are you?” He interrupted coldly, his expression looking hard and distant, and Lythana’s heart dropped.

“What do you mean? It’s me, Lythana,” she almost pleaded. “The Inquisitor?”

“You are _not_ the Inquisitor,” he snapped. “You have the same mark, but the Inquisitor is Adaar. The other one was spouting the same nonsense.”

“The other one?” She repeated. “Saeldur? You have to let me see him.”

“No.”

“Cullen, please, I know you don’t know me, but I lo-” She cut herself off, biting her lip. She inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh. “I don’t know what’s happening,” she said, her voice slightly uneven. “But there’s strange magic at work, perhaps similar magic to what Alexius used. I don’t know much, but I’ll tell you everything I can. Saeldur and I- we have to get back to where we belong.”

Cullen frowned, seeming to consider. She hated seeing him like this – it made an unpleasant chill run through her body. She knew that they weren’t the same – that this Cullen was different – but even so; it made her heart ache for him to act like he didn’t know her.

“She seems genuine,” came a familiar voice from beyond the door as Leliana stepped into the room behind Cullen. “We should give her a chance.”

“Are you sure? She’s a mage, as is the other one. If we take their chains off, they could-”

“She willingly offered to give us information,” Leliana interjected. “We should hear what she has to say.”

“Very well,” Cullen conceded. “I will fetch the Inquisitor.”

Cullen turned on his heel and exited the room with an air of blatant irritation. As soon as he was gone, Leliana moved over to her and began undoing the chains. When they were off, Lythana sat up and rubbed her wrists, attempting to work out the dull ache.

“Thank you, Leliana,” Lythana said.

“How do you know my name?” She asked, far more gently than Cullen had.

“It’s a little hard to explain,” she said. “And most of my information is largely speculation.”

Before either of them could say anything further, a woman who Lythana could only assume to be the Inquisitor burst into the room. She was a large Qunari with white hair tied back into a bun, piercing, red eyes, and black horns that stretched behind her head. She wore similar brown clothing to the clothes that Lythana wore when she was at Skyhold and had a greatsword on her back.

“And who are you?” The woman demanded.

Lythana stood, trying to make herself look as dignified as possible in her haggard state. “Lythana Lavellan,” she introduced, paused, and then added, “I am also the Inquisitor.”

The woman scowled at her. “I must admit, the way you arrived here was… Strange. And you do have the same mark as me. Talk. Quickly.”

“Most of this is speculation, I’m afraid. I was closing an odd, blue rift, when I was sucked into a strange part of the fade. There, I found Saeldur. Another rift opened, which led us here. I think that these rifts are connecting different worlds, where there are different Inquisitors leading under different circumstances.”

The Inquisitor – the _other_ Inquisitor – crossed her arms, and continued to glare down at her. Lythana had to admit that she was feeling rather intimidated by the woman. Even so, Lythana made a point to hold her head high and square her shoulders.

“Solas?” The woman called over her shoulder.

Solas entered the room and stood next to her. “It seems plausible, Inquisitor. You were just about to go on a mission to close a mysterious, blue rift as well, were you not?”

 The woman sighed and uncrossed her arms. “Very well. We must work to find a way to close the rift soon.” She held out her hand. “My name is Rezanya Adaar.”

Lythana took her hand and shook it. “A pleasure. Where is Saeldur?”

“He will be released shortly,” Rezanya said. “For now, we must discuss strategies with Cullen, Leliana, and Josephine.”

Lythana nodded. “Bring Dorian with as well, he might know about this magic.”

“Very well,” Rezanya said, and then directed nearby guards to do what was needed.

They walked briskly through the hallways, making their way towards the War Room.  As they walked, someone brought her staff to her. She had to admit, she was a little surprised – both at this Inquisitor’s willingness to believe her, and her willingness to trust her with a staff. For all she knew, Lythana could be some crazed Venatori plotting something foul. In fact, she couldn’t help but voice her bafflement.

“How do you trust me so easily?” She asked.

Rezanya looked at her for a moment, her eyes narrowed. “We all saw you fall from a blue rift in the sky, before it disappeared. Your story makes sense, and I don’t see why you would lie,” she answered.

Before Lythana could say anything in return, they entered the War Room. Inside stood Cullen, Josephine, and Leliana. Cullen narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, and Lythana had to look away from him as she pursed her lips.

“Where is Morrigan?” She asked after a moment, realizing that the woman wasn’t there.

Leliana frowned. “How do you know of her? Why would she be here?”

“Because-” She began, then shook her head. “Never mind that for now.”

Lythana stood awkwardly to the side of the room as the others discussed minor operations while they waited for Saeldur and Dorian. She noticed Solas glancing at her every so often with an increasing amount of curiosity, and looked on the verge of striking up a conversation when Dorian all but burst into the room in his usual manner, with Saeldur trailing behind him looking a little crestfallen.

“Ah, so this must be the _other_ other Inquisitor,” Dorian said. “Why is it exactly that I was brought here?”

Lythana stepped forward, joining the discussion once more. “Because I fear Alexius is somehow involved in whatever brought us here. The magic… It feels similar.”

Dorian’s eyes widened. “Alexius? No, that isn’t possible. What do you mean it feels similar?”

“Back where I came from, I sought aid from the mages. To do that, I had to defeat Alexius. He,” she paused, trying to find the right words. “He attempted to erase me from time, but ended up sending me and my companions into the future of my world.”

“It was the same for me,” Saeldur said. “I think we’ve also been sent backwards in time, considering that Morrigan isn’t here.”

“You noticed that as well?” Lythana asked.

Saeldur nodded.

“So you’re saying that you’re both from different versions of our world… And the future?” Cullen asked, sounding more than skeptical.

“Yes,” Lythana said, frowning at him.

“Then perhaps you could tell us what our next best course of action is before you go,” Leliana suggested.

“Until we know what this magic is and how it works, that may not be the best idea,” Solas interjected. “The veil has already weakened significantly just by them being here. We do not know what disruptions their parting of information of the future might cause.”

“You said you defeated Alexius in your worlds,” Dorian spoke up. “What was his fate?”

“I locked him away,” Saeldur said.

“I had him research the time magic he used under guard supervision,” Lythana explained. “So I don’t think that the Alexius of either of our worlds had anything to do with this.”

“We didn’t confront Alexius,” Rezanya said. “So perhaps he has something to do with it.”

“Or someone with access to his magic,” Dorian suggested.

“An apprentice, perhaps?” Josephine said.

Dorian shook his head. “He didn’t have any others that I know of that he trusted enough to help him develop the time magic.”

“We should investigate the blue rift that’s opened up in the Hinterlands. The one I was about to go close,” Rezanya said.

“Don’t get too close to it,” Saeldur warned, wrinkling his nose. “I can’t say that being thrust into another world and landing on my head was the most pleasant thing I’ve experienced.”

Lythana grimaced sympathetically.

“We should bring a large party,” Cullen said. “I will accompany this expedition along with a few Templars.”

Rezanya nodded. “Very well. Solas and Dorian, you will come with too. So will Sera and Cassandra. We leave tomorrow. In the meantime, Josephine, have nicer quarters prepared for these two.”

“As you wish,” Josephine nodded.

And with that, the meeting ended. As they filed out of the room, Lythana felt the weight of a familiar hand land on her shoulder. She squeaked a little in fright as she was turned around to face Cullen.

“I must apologise for the treatment of you and Saeldur earlier,” he said. “Precautions had to be taken.”

“I understand,” she nodded, giving him a wan smile.

“What you were about to say earlier, in the cell-”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. I just-” She bit her lip. “You’re not the same. I know that. But it’s still difficult. I just want to go home, to _my_ Cullen.”

“Your Cullen?” He repeated.

“You needn’t worry about it,” she said again, before turning and continuing on.

This man wasn’t the same. He might look the same as her love, but he had been through different things, he had a different Inquisitor.

_Soon, ma vhenan,_ she thought, _I will return to you. I promise._

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed so far! :3 It hasn't really been beta-ed/edited so there may be some mistakes.  
> Saeldur is Nakashi's Inquisitor~  
> You can find me at commander-handsomeface on tumblr.


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